• Djibouti and Tunisia opened talks on a bilateral agreement covering vocational training, employment, and entrepreneurship.
• Djibouti aims to draw on Tunisia’s expertise in training design and trainer education to align skills with labour market needs.
• Tunisia backs its employment reforms with a €90 million African Development Bank–supported program and reports job placement rates above 80% in some training centres.

During the third edition of the Global Labour Market Conference held last week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti’s Minister of Labour in charge of Formalisation and Social Protection, Omar Abdi Saïd, met with his Tunisian counterpart, Riadh Chaoued. According to information reported by ÉchoTunisien, the talks focused on preparations for a bilateral agreement covering vocational training, employment, and individual and collective entrepreneurship.

Following the meeting, both sides agreed to initiate the necessary steps to conclude the agreement, with the objective of strengthening cooperation on skills development and labour market integration. The Djiboutian minister praised Tunisia’s experience and said that “Tunisia stands as one of the leading Arab countries in vocational training and apprenticeship.”

Within this framework, Djibouti plans to leverage Tunisian expertise, particularly in training engineering and trainer education, to better align training supply with labour market demand. At the same time, the Tunisian minister presented his country’s progress in employment, vocational training, and entrepreneurship and recalled the existing level of cooperation between the two states.

The initiative comes as Djibouti seeks to improve youth employability and modernise its training system. In 2025, the country expanded qualifying programs for people aged 18 to 35 in sectors such as logistics, construction, and services. The National Agency for Employment, Training, and Professional Integration (ANEFIP) recorded 895 young people entering the labour market, up from 803 in 2024, representing growth of nearly 11%, despite a persistently high unemployment rate of 25.9%, according to available data.

Tunisia continues to pursue reforms to improve the training-to-employment match. In 2025, the country launched the CAP Emploi program with €90 million in support from the African Development Bank. Tunisia also operates a structured network of vocational training centres offering multiple specialisations and reporting job placement rates above 80%.

This article was initially published in French by Félicien Houindo Lokossou

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de BERRY QUENUM